贝

Shell, money Component (贝)

bèi · 4 strokes

The shell, money component (贝) is a frequently seen component in Chinese characters. In Chinese, components serve different roles: semantic elements contribute meaning, phonetic elements suggest pronunciation, and structural elements provide the character's framework. It primarily serves as a semantic element, contributing meaning related to shell, money and associated concepts to the characters where it appears. It typically appears on the left side of a character. 45 characters: 2 in HSK 3, 11 in HSK 4, 6 in HSK 5, 7 in HSK 6, 19 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Radical vs. Component: 贝 is also a Kangxi radical (shell). As a radical, it classifies characters in dictionaries. As a component, it appears as a building block contributing meaning, sound, or structure. For radical-specific details, see the Shell, money Radical (贝) page.

Shell, money Component at a Glance

Stroke Count4
Total Characters45
Primary RoleSemantic (meaning)
Typical Positionleft side
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (19 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes10
Also a Kangxi Radical?Yes — view radical page

All Shell, money Component Characters

HSK 3 (2 characters)

员yuánmember, staff页xiéhead

HSK 4 (11 characters)

货huògoods责zéresponsibility购gòuto buy贺hèto congratulate败bàito defeat资zīresources负fùto bear费fèito cost则zé(literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but账zhàngaccount赚zhuànto earn

HSK 5 (6 characters)

贴tiēpaste, subsidy赔péito compensate赞zànpraise赠zèngto give as a gift赏shǎngto bestow (a reward)贡gòngto offer tribute

HSK 6 (7 characters)

财cáiwealth贸màotrade贫pínpoor贯guànto penetrate贷dàiloan赖lài(Tw) (coll.) LINE messaging app赋fùpoetic essay

HSK 7-9 (19 characters)

贪tāngreedy贱jiàncheap, humble贾gǔmerchant赁lìnto rent赂lùbribe赃zāngbooty赐cìbestow赡shànto support贞zhēnchaste赌dǔto bet坝bà(used in place names) plain狈bèia legendary wolf贬biǎnto diminish贩fànto deal in贿huì(bound form) bribery赎shúto redeem贼zéithief贮zhùto store赘zhuì(bound form) superfluous

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the shell, money component (贝)?
There are 45 characters containing the shell, money component (贝) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 2 in HSK 3, 11 in HSK 4, 6 in HSK 5, 7 in HSK 6, 19 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 员 (yuán, "member, staff"), 资 (zī, "resources"), 则 (zé, "(literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but"), 费 (fèi, "to cost"), 责 (zé, "responsibility"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 贝 a radical or a component?
贝 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 贝 (shell) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 贝 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the shell, money radical," it means 贝 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the shell, money component," it means 贝 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
What sound does the shell, money component (贝) give to characters?
When 贝 serves as a phonetic element (in 5 of its 45 characters), it commonly contributes these pronunciation patterns: bai (败); ba (坝); bei (狈). Phonetic components are one of the most powerful tools for reading unfamiliar characters — if you recognize 贝 in a new character, there is a good chance the pronunciation is related. Note that tones and initial consonants may vary across characters sharing the same phonetic component.
Where does 贝 appear in a character?
The shell, money component (贝) most commonly appears on the left side of a character. Full position breakdown: left side (22 characters), bottom (20 characters), right side (3 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 贝 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include shell, money component characters?
Characters containing the shell, money component (贝) appear across 5 HSK levels: 2 in HSK 3, 11 in HSK 4, 6 in HSK 5, 7 in HSK 6, 19 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 19 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common shell, money-related characters, while advanced levels add specialized or literary terms.

Sources & Standards

Components are identified through structural decomposition analysis of characters in the HSK 3.0 Standard (《国际中文教育中文水平等级标准》), published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2022 revision. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system (康熙部首).